How to save a life
by Nithela
Summary: Ed's pregnant. And... he can't just deal with it. Rated for a reason: Adult themes, mpreg, mutilation, implications of rapeish events, foul language, blood and other Mthings, ANGST and a hint of fluff. No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Nithela speaks: Uh, yeah, hello everyone. I'm back with a new fic, a rather drabblish one if I might say so. I thought of this plot when I spoke with my dear friend on MSN, and this... thought... just didn't disappear out of my mind. Somehow, my fingers started tapping the keys and here we are.**

**Disclaimer: FMA belongs to Arakawa, only the plot is mine.**

**Warnings: Um... yeah. Angst in huge amounts, self destructive behavior, implications of rape, foul langage here and there, crappy spelling and grammar, alternate universe-ish, mpreg. I think that was all... yeah. It was.**

**And hey, this is just the prologue. I need at least one review to keep it going. Flames will be ignored, but constructive critisism is appreciated. -smile-  
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"You're going to kill it?!"

"Of COURSE! It's not meant to exist! What did ya think, that I'm supposed to be some kind of...? LOVING PARENT??! Al, I'm 15! I'm a GUY!"

"You're _pregnant_!"

"YEAH, I NOTICED THAT! IT'S UNNATURAL!"

"Please stop yelling!"

"What am I supposed to do? Just, sit back and relax??"

"You'll hurt the baby!"

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN! IT'S GOING OUT OF ME THIS INSTANT!"

Ed marched away from his brother, virtually fuming, and Al reached out to stop him but realised that it was useless. His face formed into a desperate grimace and he cried after the blonde.

"You're no murderer!"

Ed pretended not to hear him and disappeared around a corner. Al fell down to his knees and stared down the hospital corridor.

"You... can't..." He whispered, his voice almost disappearing.

* * *

Ed closed the door to their hotel room, locked it, marched over to his bed and sat down on it. A wave of nausea coursed through his body, making him fidget. He concentrated at his abdomen and imagined that he could almost, almost feel something stir in there. He put a hand over it and stroked it in microscopical movements before realizing what he was doing and jerking the fingers away as if he had been burned. He grabbed the towel that was lying on the cover and decided to take a shower, anything to occupy his mind and not to let his thoughts wander.

He turned on the tap and adjusted the heat before getting undressed, careful not to look down at his own body. He had never really been shy in any way, but it was different now. He. Carried. Something.

He stepped inside the cubicle and increased the heat, standing in the jet. He felt really filthy and he needed to be cleansed. He made the water go even hotter. His skin turned red, but it wasn't enough, so he grabbed the rough sponge and scrubbed himself until he got chafes all over. It stung and burned, but the feeling of filth didn't disappear. He made disgusted sounds and dragged it over the reddened areas, oh God, his skin felt like it was going to fall from the flesh and pile up at his feet. He threw the sponge into the plastic wall and slid down to sit on the floor, hugging his stomach and cradling himself back and forth as another wave of nausea came and went. He didn't know if he cried, he didn't care. The water ran down his back and face like hot tears, burning him on their way down. He let out a wail and fell down on his side, moving into fetus position, still clutching the lower part of his abdomen. Shaking.

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**Nithela speaks: Um... yeapp. That's it. Rewiev? If I recieve many, I'll update as soon as I can, aiight?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Nithela speaks: Um. hi... sorry everyone, fact is that I've been hating this story until a little while ago. It sort of started as a disturbing idea that I had to get out of my head and it stayed at a certain level of crappiness, but I've rewritten huge parts of it and sort of gotten used to the mpreg-thingy. And now that I'm almost done with the story, I think I dare keep up with the posts.**

**Warnings: Slightly disturbing content, blood and gore, failed attempts to do something angsty...**

**Disclaimer: -sighs- I own a lot of things, but not FMA. Got it? Good.**

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Al tried opening the door to the apartment and frowned as he felt it being locked. Sighing, he dragged the key from a pocket in his pants and made his way in. Ed always wanted solitude when he was upset.

The shower was going; he heard the water come down in an even jet. It was strange, he had taken a shower earlier that day.

"Brother, I'm home."

No respond.

"Ed?"

Still nothing.

"Are you alright?"

Duh... Dumb question.

There were sounds of something moving from the bathroom.

"I'll be out in a minute, 'kay?"

Ed's voice was off. Too happy. Too high-pitched. Too strained. Al frowned again, but he supposed it was natural for him to be shocked, so he decided not to show that he had noticed.

When the blonde came out, he was fully dressed again. He smiled at his little brother.

"Don't look like that, I'm okay."

_(Heh, right_. Al thought.

The next day, Edward went back to the hospital. He spoke with the same doctor that had stated that he was pregnant and booked an appointment for abortion.

"Are you sure?" The grey-haired man said calmly, peering over the edge of his glasses where he stood in front of Ed, who sat on the examination table and clutched its edges with his fists until the flesh one was becoming white. "This is a hard decision to make. You don't need any more time to think about it?"

"I just wanna get rid of it." Ed said, swallowing. "As soon as possible."

The doctor eyed him for a moment before sighing and writing something on his clipboard.

"Alright, you'll have an appointment in July 23rd; it's ten days from now."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing:

"Do you want any support? We have experienced therapists..."

The teen jumped off the table.

"I'll handle this. It's just ten days, right?"

In the corridor, Al was waiting, sitting on a red plastic chair and holding his brother's red coat in his arms. He jumped when the door opened and Ed came out with a paper in his hand and the doctor behind him.

"Hey, I'm done."

The younger brother looked at the haunted expression hiding behind the plastered grin and sighed, rising and handing the piece of clothing back.

"If you say so..."

"What's with the sour look?"

The same night, Ed leaned over the sink in the bathroom and looked at his own reflection. Who did he think he was fooling?

His eyes were dull, his face was strained.

Flashes.

Pain.

Panic.

He turned the tap on and put his hands into the streaming water. Once again heat. Filth. Filth needed to be washed away.

Clansing. That was the key. Cleansing.

Al looked up from his book and saw Ed's pained expression and tensed pose as he came back into the only room. He bit down into his own lip.

"You don't look too good."

Ed lay down on his bed, on top of the cover, and stared into the ceiling.

"_Is that… bags under his eyes?" _The brunette thought for himself and closed the book.

"I'm gonna be just fine in ten days."

He turned around to face the wall. Al looked at his tensed shoulders, the way his flesh hand hugged his side.

"You sure about that?"

The blonde looked over his shoulder to give his brother a questioning glance.

"Huh?"

Alphonse put the book away.

"I mean... you're sure about not keeping it?"

"Of course I am!"

Pain.

Stone…

Cold stone.

More pain.

Lightning.

And then darkness again.

Ed woke up with a start, sitting up and throwing the cover all across the room, screaming his lungs out. Something in his stomach clenched and he clutched it panickedly before blowing chunks all over the bed. Al snapped awake and screamed at him.

"Brother!"

Ed flopped back on the bed, rolling around on his back and sobbing dryly, still hugging his waist.

"It's alright... I'm alright..."

The stench made him retch all over again, but since he hadn't eaten properly in a couple of days there was nothing to throw up anymore. Al climbed into his bed and lifted him up against his sleep-warm chest. A heart beating rapidly resonated through Ed's brain, reassuring, calming him slowly. He wasn't _there_ anymore. Al was with him. It was fine.

"Shh…" His brother cooed, stroking his soaked bangs and cradling him back and forth.

Ed looked up at Al's face and put his arms around his frame, holding tightly, pushing the pain away.

"I'm sorry." He said. "Go back to sleep."

"We'll have to change the sheets, and you need to wash up."

Once more pain. Heat. Cleansing, cleansing... Scrubbing, grinding, tearing...

It had been five days.

Deep shadows lay under dull eyes. Wincing, Ed sat down at the small table in the kitchen part of the room. He grimaced as his sore skin rubbed against his clothes. He had cleansed himself even more carefully this time, since he had had another nightmare the night before.

He was filthy. His body was an open, bleeding wound. His stomach was infected but in five days everything would be back to normal. **It** wouldn't cause him pain and make him feel like that and **it** would be gone. Gone... forever. A life.

Hopes, dreams, someone's eventual partner, a career… someone who'd crawl up beside him at night… heck, why did he even think about those things anyway?** It** would soon be gone. The filth would go away. He couldn't wait.

He dragged a hand over his stomach while glancing down at it, before pouring up a cup of tea and eating a sandwich under Al's supervision. His little brother was always watching him closely, but he didn't know what he was doing during the hours spent in the shower. He didn't see the chafes. He didn't see the filth. That's right, filth. It would be gone soon… right?

Nine days.

Ed came out of the shower, now itching all over. He didn't dare scratch anywhere, though. It would sting and cause him pain if he did. His skin had become fragile during these days.

Al wasn't there; he had gone shopping, so the blonde was alone at home. He sat on his bed and lay down slowly, closing his eyes.

He woke up with a start, feeling a coppery taste fill his mouth. His pillow was drenched in blood and a million knives turned in his stomach. He rolled over to lie on his front and coughed; with every breath there was an amount of red coming up. He wormed up to his knees and tried sitting up, but the pain in his abdomen made him fall down and crash to the floor. His middle section burned, and he panicked.

"_What the fuck is happening?"_

Another jab in his stomach. He let out a whimper and coughed up more blood. He could almost feel the life inside of him writhe underneath the skin of his palms; it was in pain too.

"_I'm _murdering _it!"_

He convulsed; they were dying. He was sure of it. Both of them were dying. He froze at the thought; _he_ didn't mind dying himself, since the filth would disappear if he did…

But…

...

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**Nithela speaks: Er, yep. Some of you must wonder why Ed is so irrational. Fact is that many people think like that when they are traumaized or something, he acts like an anorectic and that's a bit like how "they" think.**

**I'll try updating this as soon as I can and got the guts, kay? Just keep nagging and I'll do it.. -embarrassed- That's how I work. Thank you for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Nithela speaks:** **Alright, I got a HUGE dose of nagging and as you can see, I'm finally updating. I'm sorry, this chapter is not that angsty at all, but I'll have to post it in order to make the story come to the point I want it to reach, okay? Thanks for putting up with me -sweatdrop-.**

**Warnings: Er, no real angst, uneventfulness. Mpreg.**

**Disclaimer:**** ...blah blah, don't own anything.**

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"He's waking up."

"Thank God. And the baby?"

"It's still alive, barely, but I find a heartbeat."

Ed's eyes fluttered open. Something was in his throat, something long, made of plastic…. A tube. Were they pumping his stomach? Why?

He lifted a hand and tried to pull it out of his throat when he gagged, but someone held it back.

"You mustn't. We have to get rid of the blood in you."

Al became visual, but all he could do was blink tiredly and reach out his hand, wanting to grab his little brother's. No one saw the gesture and his weak, outstretched fingers fell back on the clean sheet.

"What's happening to him?" The brunette squealed, and the doctor shook her head.

"We have no clue. Immense blood flows and pain are signs of miscarriage, but the baby is still alive."

"_It isn't dead yet?"_

Ed's insides froze and shattered into a million pieces. It was still there. Why? Why didn't it die? Why the fuck did it fight to survive when it was going to be taken out anyway?

"_Because that's all it demands of life, _living." A small, dry voice told him in his mind, but he told it to shut up and mind its own business.

"I must say that you haven't taken care of yourself at all, Mr. Elric." The doctor reprimanded while checking something on a clipboard. Her brown eyes were slightly narrowed as she read something. "Your blood pressure is dangerously low and your stomach has shrunk. When was the last time he ate something?" She asked Alphonse.

He shrugged and shook his head, staring into space for a moment while thinking.

"Well…" He mumbled hesitantly, "I made sure he had dinner two days ago… I'm under Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye's supervision so we don't see eachother that often in the days. I just assumed he…"

His voice trailed off and he looked like he was ashamed. Ed didn't get why. It was his own body, not Al's. Why did he care?

The doctor returned her attention to the blonde in the hospital bed.

"You threw it up later, am I right?"

"_How the fuck did you know?"_

He just didn't want to give the baby any nutrition; he didn't want it to grow any more. Food would make it grow. It was no good.

She looked at him for a long, long while in silence before gesturing for Al to come outside with her. He watched them leave the room and left him with the beeping from the EKG, the sounds of two beating hearts resounding between the walls.

* * *

The doctor closed the door and nodded towards a chair, bidding Al to sit down. He took the offer and looked up at her, his heels drumming a nervous staccato against the floor.

"What's happened to him? Is he going to be alright?"

She let the clipboard hang against her side and gave him a solemn, business-like face.

"I will be completely honest with you; he wasn't far from dying. If you hadn't come home and called for us, none of them would be in there now. Furthermore: My professional opinion is that he should not get rid of the baby. This is the first male pregnancy in the history of mankind."

Al drew breath to object but she put a hand in the air to stop him.

"And I don't think it is the baby's fault that your brother is in such a terrible condition. Some can stress their unborn children to death, and if they are traumatized or psychologically unable to let it live, their bodies get rid of it in order to save the parent."

The teen looked nonplussed, and she sighed.

"Mr. Elric, what makes a baby come to life?"

"Well… sex… but... he's got no partner that _I_ know of… and he's not the type to go to a bar and pick up girls." He mused, frowning.

"That's right, but the intercourse itself is only the start of the procedure. You need a lot of things to make it work; a matrix and the right hormones, an egg from a woman and semen from a man are just a few of them. There's no way that a man would be born with all of that naturally and if that _had_ been the case, we would have noticed it. This only leaves the conclusion that someone has experimented on your brother."

Al's eyes widened.

"That's just…"

"Sick, yes. Non-human, yes. We'll have to start an investigation after letting Edward confirm it. This can't just pass through the military's fingers."

Alphonse looked like he was going to be sick, and she decided that it was time to stop.

"Let's go back inside."

* * *

When he had gotten rid of the stomach pump, Ed had a glass of water and was helped up to sitting position. The doctor and Al sat beside his bed in silence while he drank it, and at last, after a good ten minutes of nothing else than the machines humming in the background sounding in the room, he couldn't take the tension.

"What's going on?" He asked the doctor, putting the glass on the side table. His body was already forgetting how the stomach pump felt, though he kept feeling rather powerless.

She cleared her throat and leaned back in her own chair.

"We need to know what happened to you, Mr. Elric."

He stiffened. The filth was back again. Pictures and impressions that he'd give his remaining arm to forget came floating up through his mind, but he pressed them down and shook his head.

"No. Just get rid of it."

"I'm afraid we can't do that."

"I can't remember anything."

"I'm sure you do."

"What if I don't want to talk about it? What's done has been done, the end!" He snapped.

"You have a life in you as the result." She reminded him.

"That's why I want to get it out!"

"Edward Elric, do you really think you will forget about it after the abortion?" The doctor asked coolly, conjuring up every bit of professionalism she had to not to let her voice tremble.

"I know it doesn't help to have it in there!" He yelled at her; he seemed to be infuriated. But Al saw something else being reflected in his eyes, a feeling that was unnerving to see: desperation. "So _please_ just do your job!"

"You know it's a no-can-do right now. I have studied psychology just to help patients like you; it is my job to do this."

Her voice had softened again and she leaned forward, reaching out to take his hand. He looked at the fingers close to his but didn't pull away.

"Now, tell me what happened." She said.

"Why do you think I need help? We've gone through worse than this and never looked back, right Al?"

Alphonse fidgeted in his seat; he didn't want to be in his brother's way, neither the doctor's. But Ed's health was the most important right now. He steeled himself and looked the blonde in the eyes.

"I… think you should give her a try, brother." He said in a low but clear voice at Ed, who stared at him in perplexion. "One can't take too much. Not even you."

Edward looked down at his own cover as the doctor took his hand. He was still for a while and the others waited, and they were startled to hear him chuckle lowly in the back of his throat and smile as a sign of giving up.

"We're just puny humans after all, aren't we?" He asked tiredly.

"Even alchemists are." Al answered.

"Okay..."

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**Nithela speaks: Yepp. That's it. SORRY for the short- and uneventfulness! -bows- Maybe I'll post the next one right away in a puny attempt to clear my consciense...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nithela speaks**: **Yay, another chapter! I posted it as an apology for the amount of time you guys had to wait. I'll be better in the future!**

**Warnings: Nah, not that much angst this time either. It'll be more in the next chapter, I promise! Mpreg, cursing, other kinds of disturbing content.**

**Disclaimer: I own this story. No more.**

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"I'll tell ya. I'll tell ya everything in exchange for… Whatchacallit…"

His gaze was going all over the place and it looked like it would cause him pain to say it, so the doctor decided to help.

"Therapy." She said, smiling back and squeezing his hand gently.

"So, err, you need to take notes and stuff?"

"Yes."

"One more question."

She looked up from her clipboard and took out a pen from her breast pocket.

"Hm?"

"I know I shouldn't even think about it after having my stomach pumped and all but truth is that I'm really, really hungry, so…Can I have something to eat first?"

Al merely blinked at his brother. Ed, asking nicely for something? _That _was something new…

The doctor looked thoughtful with the writing tool leaning against the paper.

"Nothing big in that case. We don't know if your stomach is going to reject food when you're in your current state. Fact is that we can't be sure of anything right now."

Al took an apple and a small knife from a bowl that was on Ed's bedside table, giving the doctor a questioning look. She nodded and he handed it over to his older brother, who began cutting out small pieces of it neatly while looking down at the ruby red fruit, deep in thought. That was also strange for the younger boy to see.

"I was… on a mission for brigadier general Mustang. It was a Thursday, the 26th of May if I remember correctly. He was tipped off by some local police that there had been mysterious murders cases in Bachan, the city in the northeast. All of the victims were women, and most of them had been robbed of their…"

His cheeks got a slight tinge of red as he put a piece of apple in his mouth, chewing on it and slouching against the pillow.

"You know," he mumbled, "their matrixes and stuff. However, the later ones had been men, and some of them had had these parts put inside of them. Everyone seemed to have died of infections and other side effects when their bodies had rejected the extra bodyparts. One of the policemen was an alchemist and he recognized some traces of poorly done transmutations, so he decided to turn to us working for the state.

I travelled there alone like I always do; you were off to West City with Riza, Al. In most cases there is just one mad scientist playing god, and they are not that tough to handle, but when I at last found that guy's laboratory and went inside, there was something wrong with the whole place. No traps, no guard dogs, nothing. And then it all went black. I dunno what hit me but it knocked me out for a good deal of time."

He hesitated, looked thoughtful and stuck the knife into the half-eaten fruit, indicating that he was finished. The doctor was scribbling on a paper and Al sat with his back straight as a stick, listening intensively.

"When I woke up there was light everywhere, the air was cold, I had no clothes on and strange noises, like, frequent beeping sounds and metal parts being scraped against eachother, came from all around me. There seemed to be three or four people on my left. One thing I remember clearly was the man standing by my feet. I can't recall what he looked like, everything was too blurry. He kept blabbering about blood types and other medical terms but stopped when he noticed that I was awake."

Ed looked away for a moment as if shutting out something from his mind.

"He had something on a table beside me, but I was to dizzy to see what. He only said one thing after that: 'good'. He went over to the people standing on my left side and did something to one's stomach… Then I saw it, they weren't _standing_, they were _hung up_ on meat hooks! Then he…"

His face took a shade of grey and he swallowed.

"… He was _cutting out_ a dead woman's matrix from her body."

The doctor paled somewhat but kept writing, and Al made a grimace of pure revulsion.

"He held it in his hands and put it on the side table" the blonde continued, "… and then this pain. There was light everywhere and it came from _me._"

He pulled up his knees towards his chest and embraced them, staring out in space.

"Do you want to stop for a while?" The doctor asked with her cool voice, gathering herself. She knew that _she_ could use a break right now. However, Ed shook his head.

"It felt like being on fire and cut in pieces, it seemed to be taking forever. Sometimes he would stop and use some kind of surgical instruments before continuing with whatever he was doing, and I just remember the fucking _pain_ coming from my midsection. I dunno if I was screaming, there was just torture and flashes of light for too long."

Ed hid his face in his knees and let out a low sigh.

"I must have fainted sometime during the transmutation," he said with a strained, muffled voice, "because when I woke up again I was at the side of some road between two corn fields. I saw the train station right in front of me and got up to my feet. Then I remembered where I had been and what had been done, but there was no trace of alchemy anywhere on my body. My clothes were back on and there seemed to be nothing wrong with me. I took the first train home and 'forgot' do write a report about it.

A month ago I started feeling sick in the mornings and got these stomach- and backaches and something was just not _right_ anymore… and when I go here I find out that I am _pregnant!_"

Ed's hands formed fists around parts of the sheet; his automail tore a hole in the material as he pulled at it in the typical gesture of holding back anger or tears. Al rose from his chair and moved over to the bed, crawling up on it and silently putting his arms around the blonde. Ed leaned to the side, into his brother's embrace, and hid his face in said boy's chest.

The doctor put the pen back in her pocket, stood up, turned, and headed out, the sound of muffled sobs and whispered apologies coming from behind her as she reached the door.

When she reached the bathroom next to the room, she rushed inside it and threw up.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Al. I should have known better than going in there myself and now I'm just… dirty." Ed murmured, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"Hey, no one thinks you're dirty." Alphonse chided, pulling his fingers through the soaked blonde bangs being stuck against his brother's face. "Except yourself. And the man who did it is the one who should be punished, not the baby, not you. It wasn't your fault that… some _madman_ wanted to experiment on you."

He had to hold back uncharacteristic anger from his voice. This was not the time to freak out. He could tear things apart when his brother wasn't watching. Ed needed something familiar to hold on to right now.

"And the life growing inside you just wants to live. Nothing else. It's not its fault that it was made in such a way." He continued.

"But Al, I can't walk around with a _child_ inside of me, I'm a _guy._"

"I believe we've had this discussion before, brother. I think the ability to give life is amazing. I know you were forced into this change of your body and that it's the same as being raped, but think of it."

"I wouldn't be able to… do anything!"

"Like what?"

"Well…" Ed made a 'duh' face and shrugged, gesturing. "Giving _birth_!?"

He grimaced, clearly disgusted with the idea.

"There are other ways, you know that."

"Who's gonna _raise _it? It has no mother, and what kind of father would I be?"

"You can always let someone adopt it."

"After carrying it around for seven more months, is someone else going to have it? I don't think so, it's…"

Al stared at his brother.

"You _do_ want it."

Ed stopped in mid-sentence and frowned.

"It's not that. If I'm keeping it, _I'm keeping it_, got it? I'm not gonna abandon it like that bastard Hoenheim did with us."

"_Now you sound like the old Ed."_ Alphonse mused with a smile.

"Okay, then it's decided. You're going to be a father."

"Poor kid." Edward murmured.

He stared rather grumpily into the wall, but Al could se a small, excited spark in his eyes.

* * *

Ed had come into the fourth month of pregnancy, his therapy sessions had been going well and he had wowed to the doctor to keep in touch. There were certain changes in his physique by now; the lower part of his stomach was rather convex and he was sure it must look like he had been gaining weight. It was almost time to take a break in work to hide his state from the rest of the military, and one morning, he knocked on Mustang's door.

"Come in." The brigadier general said in a most bored tone. When he saw who it was, he merely cocked an eyebrow at him over the pile of boring paperwork someone (perhaps Riza) had put on his desk.

"Having manners today, Fullmetal? That's odd. Are you sick? Or do you want something?"

Ed laid the form he had brought with him on top of the other papers, looking sour like always.

"There." He grumbled. "I'm taking a vacation."

Roy took it in his hand, cast one glance at it and whistled.

"For whole eight months, eh? What's the occasion?"

Edward put a hand on the desk and smirked.

"Why don't you try to figure that out until I'm back?"

"I just want to know why one of my best men runs away for that long." Mustang stated, leaning back on his chair with a curious expression on his face.

"Not telling."

"Fullmetal…"

"I prefer 'Ed' when I'm off duty."

"You're…"

The brigadier general looked at the paper again.

"You're leaving today."

"Yup, and I'm taking Al with me."

"Off on another journey?"

"Not really."

Ed turned around and headed out, but Mustang's voice stopped him.

"What about the report from your visit in Bachan?" He asked; the blonde heard the smug tone. "I haven't seen a trace of it."

"I never found that crazed sonofabitch, 'kay?" Ed said, looking over his shoulder and adjusting his coat. "Just forget about it."

"Oh, _that's_ not the problem. You see, I have got information from other places. A little bird whispers into my ear about your _progress_, so to say."

Edward stiffened a little.

"And?"

"That was all."

"_You bastard to turn tables like that!"_ Ed thought furiously while continuing his stroll. _"What if you let_ me _have the last word for once?"_

When he was going to close the door he heard Roy speaking again.

"Send me a postcard sometime; it doesn't matter if it's pink or blue. I'll be happy for you anyway."

In the same moment that the handle came back to its former position, the blonde realized what his superior officer meant.

"_HE KNEW!"_

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**Nithela speaks: Woho! Another chapter! Review?**_  
_


	5. Chapter 5

**Nithela speaking:**** Oh my, I have _no_ idea why I keep up the posts in this fast pace -scratches head in confusion-. I guess the reviews you guys give me makes me go all "Wheeeeee" and gives me inspiration and encouragement. Well, here's a looong chapter for you as an extra treat, kay?**

**And don't worry, the thing I REALLY want to write is coming up in the next one -grin-. I'm so mean.**

**Warnings: Mpreg, blood and gore, foul language, risk of dying by nosebleed if you are an Alphonse-fan...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that someone else has created.  
**

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Al kept casting suspicious glances at Ed, who was once again chewing on an apple (a certain obsession he had been developing) where he half-lay on the train seat. Said brother kept looking out the window, tilting his head to watch something particularly interesting go by whilst waiting for them to reach their destination. He pretended not to care about the part-time ogling from grey-brown irises, but when two hours had passed and nothing changed, he sighed and met Al's eyes just as his little brother's gaze averted from his own.

"Alright, what's goin' on? Isn't the window good enough for ya?"

Alphonse looked up from the book he had been pretending to be engaged in and tried making a quizzical look, but when he saw Ed's facial expression, he gave that idea up. Instead, he lowered his head a bit and looked up between dark-blonde bangs in shame.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"I've been keeping an eye on you since I heard about… that." The younger sibling admitted solemnly while closing the book and laying it in his lap. "I sort of do it without thinking."

"Cummon, do I look suicidal?" Ed asked in frustration, waving the apple around and accidentally making it smash against the window. He paid the stain on the glass no attention whatsoever and held the fruit up between them in his automail hand. "See? I eat. There's nothing to worry about."

"I know, I know you eat and all that but I can't stop worrying." Al said. Edward slid even further down in his seat so that his rump was balancing on the edge of the bench. He glared at his brother.

"Thanks for the support, jerk."

"Hey, that was uncalled for." Al chided, returning to his book. The blonde reached out his tongue in an "I don't like you"-gesture.

"I saw that, brother."

Ed turned ninety degrees to lie down and get some sleep. With his back turned away from Al, of course.

"Love you too." The smaller brother said calmly.

* * *

_Crash!_

The plate Winry currently had been holding slipped out of her grasp and shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor. Den rose from where he had lain under the table, went away from the angry girl and over to sit by Al's feet, receiving a reassuring pat on the head from the teen.

"You're _what?"_ She yelled, ogling at the other blonde, who had placed himself on a chair and was looking straight at her with unusually calm and collected eyes.

"And I'm keeping it." He said matter-of-factly.

Winry looked like she was about to faint; she also took seat on a chair and put her hand on the table, leaning heavily against it and continuing to stare at Ed as if waiting for him to tell her that it all was a stupid joke. Pinako let her pipe hang dangerously loose from her mouth; Al was afraid that his brother had given her a heart attack.

"I don't understand, Ed, how can a _guy_ be pregnant?! You're not supposed to… it _can't be!_"

"Well, it _is!_" He answered, now more like his old self with a trace of anger in his voice. "Just _accept it!_"

"Edward, I'm a doctor. Do you know how ridiculously hard it is for me to accept something that unnatural?"

"Hey!" He yelled, standing up and towering over her. "Don't say it like that!"

Winry followed suit, glaring at him with blue eyes that almost sent lightings at the other teen.

"But it _is!_ There's a reason, a _law_ explaining why men aren't being able to have children and you're going against it!"

"Okay, that does it!"

Ed had put an arm around his belly as if protecting it from the mechanic.

"I won't let you speak about it like it's some kind of abomination! If you can't accept my decision of keeping it and raising it on my own…"

"You wouldn't _dare_ preventing me from helping you!" She almost roared at him with her hands on her hips, leaning in his direction. He opened his mouth to give an impolite answer, but his voice died away when he realised what she had said. His hand pointing at her dropped to his side.

"You're…"

"Damn right!" She said furiously. "You're going nowhere before summer returns, got it?"

"Um…"

There was a quiet voice coming from the door leading to the hallway. Everyone's attention (except Pinako's- she was still staring at Ed) was drawn towards it and Ed gasped when he saw the woman standing there.

"Do you mind being a bit quieter? Cain has just fallen asleep." She asked, nodding towards the other end of the house. Her pink bangs swayed lightly.

"R…Rose?" Edward stuttered. "What're you doing here?"

"She came here because she had no other place to call home." Winry said. "Her hometown was destroyed again, remember?"

Ed seemed to ignore his friend and went to the woman in the doorway, standing right in front of her. The years had made him become taller than her, and she in her turn had matured into a beautiful woman.

"It's nice seeing you again." She mumbled, looking down and fiddling with the hem of her white top, apparently not knowing what to do.

They were like that for a while, both wordlessly saying: "I've missed you." The others looked at them in silence since they didn't want to ruin the moment, but when they at last started to fidget, Winry gestured for Al to come with her.

"Can you help me finding some clean sheets for your beds?"

The teen nodded and patted Den one last time before following his friend out. Pinako disappeared somewhere with the dog. Ed and Rose found themselves being left completely alone and looked around the room, thinking of something to say.

"So, has Cain gotten big?" The blonde tried, grasping for a subject. "I haven't seen him since he was two months old."

Rose smiled at his effort.

"He's four now."

He whistled lowly, and she shone up.

"Want to see him?"

"I thought he was asleep."

She led the way out of the room, sneaking theatrically. He didn't mimic her, but he was cautious with not stepping to hard on the wooden floor with the automail foot.

"We just need to be quiet; he's a light-sleeper the first hour."

"Oh, ok."

Rose opened the door to a patient's room and peered inside. Ed stood on his toes, folded his arms in front of his chest to know where he had them and looked over her head to do the same, and saw a small figure lying on a bed by the window. The brown-haired, dark-skinned boy was flat on his stomach with a tattered, patched blanket tightly in his grasp, mumbling something in his sleep. Rose looked up at Ed with a gentle smile on her lips.

"I wish he could be always this angelic when he's awake."

"He's adorable." He mumbled, looking at the peaceful boy. Rose tilted her head a bit; even though she hadn't met him that many times, she knew that wasn't a usual thing for the feisty alchemist to say. The pregnancy really must have changed some things.

She closed the door again and sighed lightly.

"He's started asking about things. I've thought about it for four years, but I still don't know what to say when he asks where his father is."

"I suppose I'll know how _that_ feels, huh?" Edward said grimly. "When it's time for me to answer those questions… 'Oh, right, you see, you have no mommy- daddy was keeping you in his belly instead of her since she was killed by some crazy man'..."

Rose looked down at his tank top-covered stomach, which had lost some of its rippled forms during the baby's growth.

"It's…" she began, but she couldn't find the right words to describe it with. Ed merely nodded.

"Yeah."

She hesitantly stretched her hand out towards the bulge; she was curious, although a bit ashamed of it. He wasn't something you ogled at like in some zoo, but…

"Can I?" She asked softly. "Or is it too… you know?"

The blonde's face colour shifted to a redder shade; no one had asked him that before, but then he nodded.

"Alright"

Feeling more than a bit awkward, he took hold of the hem of the tank top and pulled it up. Rose's fingers slid over his skin cautiously as if afraid of causing him pain- she knew that it was an intrusion on his personal space and he wouldn't let many have the privilege to do what she did.

Ed's gaze was glued to the woman's fascinated face, looking for any kind of discomfort or revulsion. However, there was none to be found. That surprised him, but he kept his mouth shut about it. It didn't feel _that_ awful. She was gentle, and he thought that if he said something, he'd ruin something.

She kept caressing his stomach soothingly, comforting wordlessly. Ed realised something- they both _knew._ Both he and Rose had gotten into the same kind of situation unwillingly. Both had chosen to keep the baby. They understood eachother more than anyone else ever would do.

So without warning, he let his posture slump and leaned forward, putting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes and she lifted her arms to meet him, embracing him gentle as ever. The blonde breathed out heavily, simply leaning against her form that somehow seemed so much smaller and softer than his, and held her.

There must be something coming with being a parent, he mused. The ability to comfort someone like she was. He had never imagined that he would they would be holding eachother like this, and if it would happen, he thought it would be _him_ comforting _her_, not vice versa.

* * *

Everyone at the table looked after the young man, who was running out of the room with his hand clamped over his mouth. There was a loud, retching sound coming from the bathroom, and Pinako shook her head as she spread some butter on a newly baked piece of bread.

"I wish he could at least close the door when he does that." She muttered and reached for the cheese.

Al rose from his seat and poured some water in a kettle and Winry wrinkled her nose as there was another sound of the little breakfast that her friend had managed eating came right back up again..

"I'm not sure I can get used to it." She said, obviously uncomfortable.

Rose hadn't paid much attention to Ed's business since Cain apparently thought it was a good idea to cover himself with raspberry jam.

Said blonde came back, looking rather pale and wiping his mouth on a piece of paper. He looked quite embarrassed as he sat down on his seat again. Al put a steaming cup of tea in front of him and placed himself on a chair, too. It had been a sort of morning routine for all of them- every other day, Ed would run away and throw up during breakfast. They had called the doctor about it and she agreed with the Rockbells: His body wasn't used to have strange hormones circulating around, and the fact that the baby was growing made him a bit sensitive. They all hoped Edward wouldn't have to suffer from it for long, but they just had to wait and see. He was going on his seventh month by now and his stomach seemed to be in the way whatever he was doing. Neither was he allowed to spar, chop wood, or carry heavy buckets of water- he felt completely handicapped. Not that the others lacked a reason to look after him; sometimes he had so much pain in his back that he spent all day on a couch, reading, maybe lying in bed, or doing something else to make time fly by. Cain had become attached to him and loved being around, but since Rose had told him that the blonde wasn't supposed to be disturbed and that he became easily tired, the small boy used to sit on the floor beside Ed and draw or play with some toy that he was given as a newly transmuted gift from one of the alchemists in the house. Edward didn't mind having Cain around; it was practical to have someone near that could get things for him (and do it with happy little chirps and laughter). He also thought that he could get used to have someone else around all the time, especially a child. He liked the feeling of being needed. Al was back in his body again so there was no need to feel guilty and atone for _that_ anymore. Besides, he was soon going to surpass his brother, especially when it came to the military ranks. Not that he really cared about it, but still.

One cold morning in January he looked out through the net of the kitchen door at Rose, who was hanging up some laundry on a clothesline being tied up between two huge oaks. Cain was nowhere to be seen and Al was forging some new automail parts with Winry. In other words, the coast was clear.

He opened said door and descended the three steps down to firm ground, grunting lightly at the effort it took to do something that simple with the extra weight he was carrying. The pregnancy hadn't made him chubby or anything, but his stomach was _huge!_ Sometimes he wondered why it didn't just explode or something, and marvelled over the fact that almost every woman in the world went through it. In these past few months his respect for the other sex had increased considerably.

He strolled (more rocked back and forth rather clumsily) over the grass towards her. She had her back against him, hence not seeing him, and he thought of scaring her, but just as he had finished his little plan she turned around to catch a quilt cover that had decided to escape with the cold northern air blowing over the plains.

"Crap." He said for himself when she saw him. The woman froze, and he saw a long, painful lecture about being out now coming up in her face.

"Edward, _what_ in _heaven's_ name are you doing?"

"I'm taking a walk!" He retorted, stopping right in front of her.

"Winry will kill you!" She said angrily over the howling wind, still fumbling with the disobedient sheet. "Go in!"

"I'm pregnant, not dying! And you look like you could need help!" He answered, brushing away strands of hair that plastered themselves over his face.

"_EDWARD ELRIC" Get inside the house or I'll detach and reattach your automail until you wish you had never been born!!"_

He grimaced and didn't really have to look to see the angry mechanic standing in front of the shed they used as a smithy. He was sure she had her beloved wrench firmly grasped in her right hand and that she was _itching_ to throw it at him.

"Brother!"

Oh, great, Al too.

Rose gave him an apologizing look before returning to her laundry when Ed heard someone running over the grass.

"What are you _doing_ out here?" Al said as he approached his older sibling. The blonde looked stubbornly up at him and tried crossing his arms without his enormous belly being in the way.

"I thought Rose could need a hand." He grumbled.

Al resisted rolling his eyes and sighed.

"Just get in." He said tiredly, scratching at his shoulder. It was then that Ed saw it. His little brother had nothing else than a pair of working pants on and there was a thin layer of sweat on his whole upper body. In the chilly wind, he was sure that it must have been cold as hell.

"Then what about you?" He asked, pointing at the bare torso. "You'll freeze to death out here!"

Al grimaced.

"No, no, don't try changing the… _you're barefoot!_" He groaned as he looked down.

Ed also cast a glance at his feet. Oh. Yeah, he was.

"But if I put on…"

But Alphonse wouldn't hear of it. He raised a calloused hand and pointed towards the yellow building that served as their home.

"House. _Now._"

After a long, nice staring contest between brothers, the older one gave in to the steel in Al's irises and started rocking his way back, muttering and mumbling curses of mixed ratings under his breath.

"Stupid little… Can take care of myself… wouldn't hurt…"

There was a blow in his midsection; apparently someone else was angrier than him. He stopped and bent over, grimacing.

"Yeah, I agree with ya."

He tried straightening but there was another hard kick from the baby. He was on his way of falling over when he felt a pair of arms grabbing around his chest and legs, and Al lifted him up and started carrying him back towards the house, bridal style.

"It's alright, I'm… _owww!_ Stop that!" Ed said angrily to his stomach when there was another irritating throb. His brother gave him a worried look.

"It's really active, huh?"

The blonde huffed and allowed himself to lean back into Al's arm, suddenly too exhausted to have a conversation. He felt dead tired and just wished to be back in bed, under the warm sheets (they were right, it _was_ fucking cold out here).

His stomach moved again and there was a small spray of acid coming up his throat. Not a good sign. He knocked him on the shoulder.

"Put me down."

"You're not staying out here."

"Gonna throw up…"

"Oh!"

Just as his stomach yet again clenched in a far too familiar way, he was let down to stand on his own feet. Al stepped out of the way as whatever he had eaten was thrown out on the grass for everyone to see. However, Ed simply couldn't muster up the strength to care. He just wanted the pain in his stomach to stop. The baby kept moving in violent thrusts, and he was just barely aware of a curtain of light blonde hair coming into his vision.

Winry took one quick glance at the pale young man kneeling in front of her, then signing for Al to lift him up again. He looked disbelieving; Ed was still throwing up every other second, but he did as he was told while she ran back into the house.

"_GRANNY!_ It's time!"

The small, grey-haired woman came out of the kitchen, where she had been preparing dinner for all of them. She was shocked at first, but then her instincts as a doctor surfaced and she put the frying pan with huge pork chops fizzing merrily on the stone bench beside the stove before joining her in the surgery room. Rose opened the door for Al, who carried his trembling, sweating and retching brother in his arms. They were both soaked with unmentionable things and it dripped down on the floor when they made their way through the house, but Al gritted his teeth and tried not to think about it. Or breathe, for that matter.

"Boil lots of water!" Winry yelled at Rose while she hurried around with instruments in her hands. Pinako was disinfecting her hands and the younger Elric put Ed down on the operating table. The blonde had stopped throwing up, but it was probably just because there was nothing left in his stomach. He twisted and turned on the cold surface as Winry gave him a shot with soporific substance. She looked up at Al and made a disgusted face.

"Go and wash that off."

The teen nodded, wide-eyed and in shock, then disappearing from the room. Rose peered inside.

"Um…"

She recoiled when Edward screeched and almost lifted his whole upper body from the surface when there was another convulse. Pinako tried talking with him and stood at his head, taking hold of it and holding him down at the next, but it was impossible to contact him through the screams of pain.

"Can I help?" She asked. She wanted to be for some kind of use if it was possible.

Winry looked up at her from where she hovered over her friend.

"You go and look after Cain, we can handle this. But send Al in when he's done throwing up, himself. And make sure he doesn't smell, we only need one Elric covered in vomit."

She nodded and closed the door, and the mechanic tried calming herself. Ed was bucking against the table, reaching up to grab something and groaning between the attacks of pain; the sedative had started taking an effect and he was going unconscious.

"What are you doing? Disinfect your hands, grab the scalpel and do your job!" The old lady snapped at her, still keeping him in a firm grip between her small, strong hands.

"Alright, he's a patient, just like anyone else. Just cut it up and deliver the baby…" Winry said for herself, breathing deeply during the cleaning process. "But he's a guy! _Where_ am I supposed to make the cut?"

"Just do it!"

Ed's head fell back against the table and he went completely quiet; whether he had fainted or that the shot had done its job completely, they couldn't tell. However, there was nothing that would stop the young woman now. She took the scalpel in her hand, laid it against his skin, and after a reassuring nod from Pinako, she cut up a long slit between his navel and all the way down to between his hip bones.

Alphonse had put some clean clothes on and opened the door to the surgery room carefully, but he slammed it shut again in panic when there was a high-pitched sound coming from the table. It was repeated, and his eyes widened into saucer-size. Carefully, he pushed at the wood and opened it once more, peering inside at the two women standing by the water basin. There was something small and red in Winry's arms, something that seemed to dislike the cold air and the water being splashed up upon it, at least if you could hear the offended screams coming from it.

Ed was lying on the operation table, groaning and stirring in the awakening process. Someone had apparently wiped him off, too. He seemed to be just fine, and Al came up to the doctors. Winry wrapped a fluffy towel around the tiny thing and beamed at him.

"It's a girl." She exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "You're an uncle!"

Alphonse felt like sitting down. Immediately. He sank down on the floor and simply stared at them.

"Girl?" He asked dumbly, and Pinako chuckled.

"A perfectly normal, healthy one."

Winry bent down so he could see the child. She had a few blonde hairs on top of its head and peered up at him with huge, blue eyes from the beneath the warm cloth. She had stopped screaming and just kept doing low, bubbling little noises that made Al worried, but Winry merely shook her head at him.

"She's _fine._ Here, hold her."

She reached her out for him to take, but he gestured wildly in protest.

"No, no, I can't, I'll drop her!"

"No you won't, silly. There, mind her head, she can't hold it up by herself."

He hesitantly took the bundle in his arms, staring down at the little life. She made quite a good job staring right back, and they watched eachother in silence for a while as if inspecting the other.

There was a sound coming from the blonde on the table. Alphonse rose as fast as he dared and went over to his brother, whose eyes fluttered open.

"Al?" He groaned.

"Congratulations, brother." The brunette answered with a gentle smile. Ed frowned and turned his head to look at the towel he had in his arms, and a small spark of realisation was lit in his slightly unfocused eyes. "You have a daughter."

Alphonse carefully laid her on the table surface, beside Ed's head. Said man angled his head to look at her, looking for faults like a third eye in her forehead or sixteen toes. However, when everything seemed to be fine, he lifted a weak arm towards her. Winry took her up, unwrapped her and put her on his chest instead, with the towel lain over her like a blanket. He gasped at the lump moving above him; there was nothing else than pure awe in his face. He laid his flesh hand on her back in an extremely gentle semi-hug, and she yawned tiredly, apparently feeling safe and comfortable. She closed her eyes, and Ed looked around at the others standing at his side with a wide grin plastered in his face.

"She's normal." He almost chirped at them, his eyes a bit blank. "She's…"

Winry turned around with a smile on her own lips, dried off her hands on the bloody sweater she was wearing, wobbled a little, and fainted on her way to the sink.

* * *

**Nithela speaking: Mwaha, Winry could finally relax. Poor girl, she's got a tendency to help with these kinds of things. Well, review? This is NOT the end, there is more to come. A great deal more, actually, and I'll actually keep away from the family-fluff.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Nithela speaks: Aye, I'm coming with another update! I hope this will be a bit more interesting than the two previous chapters. I had a fever when I wrote this and am still ill, so you'll have to excuse me if there's more language errors. I'm Swedish, and it's kind of hard to concentrate when your brain is turned to mush.**

**Disclaimer: I'm gaining no money from this fic. FMA is copyrighted to Arakawa.**

**Warnings: Cursing, bad writing, post mpreg, creepy man?**

* * *

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**

"What are you going to name her?"

Rose was carrying the small child in a soft blanket while doing some basic cleaning. Edward sat in an armchair and followed her every move; ever since he first had been able to hold his daughter properly, he hadn't wanted anyone else to carry her. It had taken the better part of half an hour to reassure him that Rose _wouldn't _drop her or let Den eat her up (not that the dog seemed to care, he was sleeping in front of the burning fire).

"Hm?" He said, shaking his head a little and focusing at something else than the bundle lying in her well-practised, completely secure one-arm grip. "Uh… I'm not sure."

Rose sat down on the couch, and the small girl started squealing and stirred, waving her small fists. Ed immediately leaned forward and almost got up from the chair.

"She's hungry." He stated, reaching out for her. "Let me."

But Rose shook her head and stood again.

"I'll take care of it." She said calmly. "Just stay put and I'll get the milk replacement."

"At least give her to me?"

She couldn't resist his pleading eyes and handed the squirming baby over.

"Alright… _there_ you go…" She cooed as she let him have it before going away to get the bottle.

He looked down at the screwed-up little face as she let out another sign of discomfort. He hadn't thought it would be possible for someone to be adorable even when screaming their lungs out.

She definitely showed him the opposite.

Rose came back with the bottle in her hand and gave it to Ed, who transmuted the liquid into body-temperature before giving it to the little girl. As soon as she felt something go between her lips, she clamped them around the teat and sucked hungrily.

Al entered the room, sopping wet after taking bathing in the heated tub behind the house. He dug the towel as deep as he could into his ear to get rid of lingering water and smiled at the sight of his brother.

"You should go while it's still warm." He said and stood by Rose. Edward cast a glance up at him and nodded slowly.

"Hm, yeah. I'll do it."

"Make sure to wash your hair too."

"Mm…"

"You're short."

"…"

"You're not listening at all, are you?"

After many buts and ifs, the alchemist sunk into the steaming water in the wooden tub. It had gone dark outside and the air was really cold, but the warmth around every bit of his body except for his head kept his temperature up so he didn't really care.

He sighed and leaned the back of his head against the edge, relaxing and finally able to clear his mind.

A name. He hadn't really thought about it yet. Well, it had been a month; it was about time to give her one.

Maybe… Stacey? No… Carla? Nah, it didn't fit. Erica? Autumn? Jay? Pamela? Laura...?

Gah, it was no good. He was too tired to think straight. He'd better finish up and get to bed. But his daughter was always up at least an hour after eating… Maybe he _could_ actually trust Alphonse and the others to take care of her until she fell asleep to. He hadn't gotten much of it himself the past week since she had the habit to wake up at three o' clock in the morning and want to eat again. Yeah. He deserved an hour off.

Said and done, he sunk down completely into the two-foot deep water before finishing and shocking Winry by asking her if they could look after the baby.

"Of course! You go up and have some sleep and we'll take care of her!" She blabbered, ushering him towards his and Al's bedroom; now when he _finally_ did what they had been asking him to do ever since the birth, she wasn't giving him the chance to change his mind. "Go on!"

"You sure? It's no t…" He mumbled tiredly in a weak attempt to protest while looking at her over his shoulder.

"_No_ trouble!" She chirped.

Before he knew it, the door was shut behind him and he was all alone in the bedroom. Shrugging, he slipped out of the towel, took on a clean pair of boxers and lay down on the covers. It took two seconds for him to fall into oblivion.

"_EDWARD!"_

The door was practically thrown off its hinges as Winry burst in with a glass-shattering shriek.

Edward's head was made of lead; it wouldn't lift from the pillow and the light coming from the hallway blinded his still lidded eyes. The rest of his body was protesting against waking up so soon and he felt slightly sick.

"Huh whazzat?" He mumbled through the fog of tiredness slowing his mind down.

"There's a man here! He's got a gun!"

Her high-pitched scream was mixed with a weaker one coming from her arms, and Ed was instantly awakened as he recognized it.

"Is she hurt?"

Winry closed the door to the bedroom while there was a crash coming from the kitchen. She opened the door to another room meant for patients and Ed scrambled out of bed in a mass of limbs, hair and sheets.

"Lemme have her." He said urgently, but she disappeared into said room. He followed and saw her looking for other escape routes, spinning on the spot and whining desperately.

"What's going on?"

"He says he's going to take her with him!" She still half-screamed and held out the baby towards him.

The door to the brothers' bedroom was thrown open. The mechanic paled and gave Ed the child, then opened the nearest window.

"You still know the moves?" She asked, looking out and up. Her friend stared at her in puzzlement.

"?"

"You have to take this way! Get up on the roof!"

"_WHAT?"_

Now it was time for the door leading to _their_ room to be attacked. The wood creaked and protested as someone kicked at it, and Winry was going teary-eyed in panic. She pushed him towards the opening.

"Go!"

He did as he was told and climbed up on the window sill, grabbed the gutter and prayed for it to hold, but…

"What about you?" He asked her. She would be left alone with a maniac, and said maniac had a gun.

Winry, who had grabbed a candlestick and was holding it like a sword in front of her while facing the door, spun around again and actually _snarled._

"_NOW!"_

In the same moment that the door exploded into splinters, Ed heaved himself up with the automail arm and stood on the brick tiles on the roof, listening.

"Where did he go?"

…he recognized that voice.

"I _said…_"

_Click._

"Where did your friend go?"

"Not one step closer!"

"You're gonna beat me with that thing?"

"STAY THERE!"

The sound of a gun being used tore through the air. The child in Ed's arms started screaming, and the footsteps coming from below stopped instantly.

Shit.

He started backing away from the window with the maniac and kept looking for any other ways down. Where was Al? Pinako? Cain and Rose? Had he hurt them? Were they…?

"_Elriiiiic…"_

A pair of hands became visible on the edge of the roof, and a moment later a man jumped up on it. Ed's eyes followed him in complete terror; he backed away and held the screaming child tightly against his bare chest.

"_You_…"

Said man gave him a wicked grin and bowed slightly. The brown coat he was wearing over torn, filthy clothes that once had been a costume and leather shoes waved in the wind. The unruly brown hair with grey spots at the temples framed in the bony face with high cheekbones, and a pair of dark eyes glistened unnervingly. He had an old, but apparently fully functioning gun in his skeleton-like hand.

"I see you have taken care of my experiment." He said calmly in a silky, eerie voice. Ed stumbled further backwards, staring at him in shock.

"No…"

"And I believe it is time for me to get the result of my efforts."

He took a step forward and Ed could do nothing else than keep backing.

"How did you find me?" He yelled over the wind, and the man hesitated.

"Oh, it was pretty easy to keep track on the Fullmetal Alchemist. You are a celebrity wherever you go, boy. That was another reason for me to choose you. Not only do you have astounding resistance and endurance, you're known throughout the whole country. It was a good choice to lure you to my laboratory."

He moved again but Ed had reached the edge; he had nowhere to go.

"You're not gonna have her!" He screamed, trying to shield her from the approaching threat.

"Who told you she was yours to begin with? If it wasn't for me, you would never have her. If she belongs to anyone, it's me."

Ed felt anger boil in his chest as the man halted only two feet away from him.

"_I_ chose to keep her! _I_ carried her!"

To his utter perplexion, the mad alchemist burst out laughing.

"Yes, yes, that's the best part of it all! It was always a risk I had to take. If you chose to abort, all the lives I sacrificed to reach this point would have died for nothing. You knew that. You couldn't let them go to waste, now would you?"

"What're you talking about?"

The man stared intensively at Edward for a long, long time and when he finally spoke, he was loud and clear.

"You never really wanted it, you just couldn't handle the thought of unused resources."

"_LIAR!"_

"You know I'm right. You told everyone you would love it, you went to your dear therapist and kept the façade up for the whole world. You even managed to fool your brother."

Ed's face had gone white, and the man smirked.

"Now,"

He reached out a hand towards the blonde.

"Give it to me."

Ed didn't move a muscle.

"You don't really want her. Just hand her over and all your troubles will be gone. You'll never have to see her again." He continued.

Golden eyes were fixed on black irises, staring, and he went in for the lethal shot.

"You don't have to pretend loving her anymore."

He stepped up to Edward, who looked between the still screaming baby wired in a blanket and the man in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, then ever so slowly extended his arms.

* * *

**Nithela speaks: Yay, cliffhanger! I'm so evil!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Nithela speaks: Yay, you'll get to know what happens! Don't you just _love_ me now? -cough- Or perhaps you'd rather want to kill me for making you wait all weekend...  
**

**Aaaaanywaaaay, here it comes! It's a rather short one, but I'm just taking a break in doing the rest of the story. There are not so many chapters left, dear readers. Just put up with me.**

**Disclaimer: I'm earning no money for making this fanfic.**

**Warnings: Language, death, blood and other things that can fall under the category of "disturbing content"**

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"Good, good boy." He said with a smirk. "Just give her to me."

Ed kept reaching out the bundle towards him without any sign of loss or grief in his features. Just before the man had the chance to have her he took her in Rose's one-arm grip, grabbed hold of one of the hands in front of him and pulled his opponent off-balance. The man let out a surprised yelp and fell down on the tiles with a crash, and he just barely had the time to cling onto the gutter. It creaked threateningly and swayed a little at his weight.

"Madness!" He screamed. "You know I'm right!"

Ed stepped down to him cautiously, making sure not to slip and fall with the baby in his arms.

"No, _you're_ the mad one here." He said calmly, standing right in front of the hanging man. "You murdered men and women, experimented on humans and made me _pregnant, _and now you almost made me forget that I _do_ want to take care of her."

He bent down and looked straight into widened, panicked eyes.

"You know why?" He hissed.

The man trembled and looked absolutely terrified at the thought of dying, though Ed couldn't care less. He began loosening the fingers with his automail ones.

"When you finally get to see the child you've been carrying around inside of you for nine months…"

One hand had loosened from the gutter and the man's eyes nearly bulged out from his head.

"You don't want to do this, Elric!" He screamed. Ed took a more secure grip of the baby and went on with the remaining fingers.

"When it falls asleep against you and trusts you above anything else, something is created."

The man lost his grip of the gutter but Ed caught him, holding him by the collar and staring him right in the eyes.

"It's called _love_, bastard!"

He spun around and tossed his burden back up on the roof. The man landed with a loud crash and stumbled up to his feet again. Ed felt an awful stench, carried with the wind towards him, and he wrinkled his nose.

"You shit yourself." He stated. His opponent felt through his pockets for the gun but it was nowhere to be found. He gaped at the blonde.

"Why did you…?"

"I don't want to kill anyone."

Edward's features softened somewhat as he hugged the bundle in his arms a bit tighter.

"And not in front of this one. But _GOD_ help me if you try hurting her." He growled.

He turned ninety degrees and headed for the door leading down from the roof, merely giving the still terrified professor a short glance.

"Just go home." He said. "And I won't give you to the military police."

He began moving away with his back against the man, who mumbled "yes, yes, I, yes, I won't…"

He didn't have the time to react; the thundering sound of running feet was the only warning he was given before something heavy hit his back. He had no chance to stop it. The tiles came flying towards his face with tremendous speed and the one single thing he could do was trying to shield the child with his arms when he crashed into the sharp edges. Several of them shattered at the impact and there was a sound of something else breaking. Ed had no intention to find out what part of him had been hurt; he rolled around, crushing the thin body lying on top of his when they switched places, and then he sat up and clapped his hands. The roof smoothened out and the man was sent over the edge with a roar that was silenced almost instantly as he hit the ground.

Ed stood, brushing off some tile parts and examined himself for damages. There were only bruises and chafes, nothing serious. Even the wind had stopped and the silence felt wonderful, like a confirmation of it all actually being over.

…_Silence?!_

He looked down at the child; she wasn't screaming or waving her small fists anymore. There was an ugly wound in her forehead and her chest seemed to be deformed. Her breaths were shallow. Bubbling.

_Dying._

He stared down at her and sat, extremely careful with her broken ribs and punctuated lungs.

"Hey…"

She opened her mouth to scream at every movement he made but all that came out was blood running down her chin. Ed's face formed a desperate grimace and he carefully opened up the blanket that was around her. One of her legs was bent in a disgusting direction.

She needed medical treatment _NOW_!

_Doctor._

"Winry!" He yelled shakily, his hands hovering over the small body in front of him. His daughter _stared_ at him and coughed up some more blood. Fuck, he didn't know _what to DO!_

"WINRY! PINAKO! ANYBODY?!" He roared out, pounding his flesh fist into the tiles. The pain was unregistered; his mind had no room for it.

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP! SHE'S DYING!"

She stopped trying to move and closed her eyes. He shattered into a million pieces and howled, hunching over her trembling body with tears streaming down his face. He thought he'd experienced hell when he transmuted their mother, but this was on an entirely different plane.

He sobbed roughly and it felt like he was turned inside out. She couldn't die, no parent should see their children die. She couldn't, couldn't, couldn't….

_Breath._

He stiffened as he felt the minimal movement in her broken chest. She was still _alive._ He had time!

It was on pure instinct. He brought his palms together and put them against the child. Blue light engulfed them both and in the next moment the Gate loomed over him.

He got up to his feet, clawed and banged at the stone, screaming.

"Let's trade!"

They opened ever so slowly and a single eye was seen high above him.

_What brings you here?_ The Truth asked with a million voices.

"You know why!"

_It's forbidden._

"The FUCK it is!" Ed roared against the massive darkness. "Human transmutation may give me a one-way ticked to whatever hell is, but I can still do it because she's _alive!_"

There was no answer from The Truth.

"I'll sacrifice myself as a passage fee, use me to save her!!"

He fell down to his knees and looked up at the looming gate.

"Please…"

There was movement from in between the doors, and the familiar tendrils came out from its darkness.

_You should be careful about what you wish for, for you may get it._ Truth said. Ed stood fast as the darkness came closer and a dozen tendrils searched his body.

"Just do it."

_Your precious daughter will live._ It said before everything around Edward was darkness.

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**Nithela speaks: Ooooh no... another cliffie! Meh. Well, I'll probably post the next chapter today, too, so you won't have to wait for long.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Nithela speaks: Yay! I have returned! And guess what? This story is finished! This will be the last chapter of it.**

**Disclaimer: I own her -points at Ed's child-!!! But... eh, nothing more.**

**Warnings: Disturbing content, blood and angst (finally, eh? -sweatdrop-)**

* * *

_Cold._

He woke up with a roar of pain; everything smelled of blood and he experienced pain worse than anything he had ever felt before. He couldn't see and his face was drenched in something. There was another scream next to him and he fumbled clumsily after his daughter.

"_Okay, she's okay, she's okay…"_ He thought.

"_Brother!"_

He lifted the child up against him and he turned towards the sound of his sibling's voice.

"Al!" We're alright!"

There was a gasp coming from Alphonse and he heard footsteps running over the roof. His little brother's smell was all around him, mingling with the blood.

"_What have you DONE?!"_ Al screamed, and Ed was confused.

"What?"

"Your eyes!"

He heard Al sitting down in front of him.

"They're… gone..."

"Al? Is he there?"

Winry. Wasn't she shot?

"They're here alright…" Al said grimly. "And the attacker is dead."

Ed could hear a sigh over his child's screams.

"Brother… _why?_"

"It was me or her!"

Rose was putting a piece of cloth over the wounds that once had been the alchemist's eyes. Winry held the child in her arms and made soft noises to calm her down and let her sleep. Al wasn't in the room, or, well, Ed couldn't hear him anywhere. Pinako was knocked out in her bed with a huge bulge in her forehead and Cain was apparently sleeping on the couch.

The mechanic didn't answer to her friend's fierce statement. She put a hand over the bandages around her stomach (the bullet from the madman's gun had gone through her side but didn't hit anything vital on its way through).

"Just lie still." She said in a dead sort of voice. Ed pushed away Rose's hands and sat up, turning towards where the sound had come from and putting a finger in the air.

"If you had the ability to save someone you would!" He snarled. "So don't give me that _bullshit_ about being stupid."

She let out an irritated sigh and put the (at last) sleeping girl in a basket on the table.

"I… I know that… but Edward… try to at least _imagine_ how it felt to hear that you had transmuted yourself again."

There was a familiar tremble in her voice.

"I really thought I had lost you. That we all had lost you…"

Her voice broke into a sob and he was sure she hid her face behind her hands. He tried rising but Rose's warm hand took hold of his shoulder and he was gently pulled back to lie on the table.

"Look…" He said. "I'm sorry for worrying you. But she was dying."

Winry didn't answer with anything than more crying and he reached out her hand towards her.

"Come here."

The sound of footsteps came closer and she placed her hand in his flesh one. He squeezed it gently.

"It's okay now."

"How can it be _okay?_" She cried out exasperatedly. "Your _eyes_!"

"I know…"

She knelt in front of him and he felt her head against his arm. Rose had stopped cleaning his face and went off to do something.

"You had such nice eyes…" Winry mumbled. "Why _them…_"

Ed put his hand on her head and pressed the cool cloth against his broken face with the automail. It felt sort of relaxing against his pounding sockets, but it was also an assurance that she didn't have to see anything of it if she looked up. He was sure it must be a terrible sight.

"Hey, I'm still alive you know." He said softly.

"Why do you keep _sacrificing _yourself like this? Haven't you already given up _so much_ for others?" She sobbed. Edward didn't know what to answer, but he was saved as light footsteps came back.

"Edward, I've got a bandage for your eyes." Rose said. "Sit up."

He did as he was told, but when he rose from lying position he forgot about the cloth and it fell down. He heard the mechanic whimpering, and Rose was quick to bind something around his head to cover what she had seen.

"Winry, you can look now."

Winry broke into new sobs and ran out from the room. Ed wanted to follow but Rose held him back.

"Don't."

"… but…"

"Let her calm down first."

He stopped trying to get away and relaxed, leaning his elbows against his knees and bent his head down.

"So… where's Al?" He asked tiredly.

"You mean you… oh."

He sensed her hesitation and frowned.

"What?"

"He's… _stop_ shaking your head, Alphonse!"

Ed turned in different directions, trying to sense his little brother's presence in the room. There was movement right beside him and he reached out for it, catching Al's arm.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"Isn't that obvious?" The teen said coldly, freeing himself from Ed's grip with a jerk. He started walking away, and Edward felt anger boil in his chest.

"Not you _too!_" He said angrily, but he received no answer. Al was still moving and it was not in the direction the blonde wanted.

That was_ IT!_ He had had enough. He got off the table and stomped angrily after his little brother, but before he had reached him he collided with a drawer and tore a lamp down as he fell. The chafes and bruises started hurting again and it felt as if he had been hit by a train. Rose came hurrying to his side, tried helping him up, but he shrugged her off and stood on all fours, feeling sick and on the verge of losing consciousness. This day had been too much, he really just wanted to sleep and forget about it all.

"Al? You there?" He asked, reaching out again. He felt the rough texture of a pant leg between his fingers and held it firmly, crawling closer.

"Talk to me." He said, facing the floor while kneeling in front of his sibling. "Say something. Anything."

He didn't care about dignity or that he must look utterly stupid; he just felt done with having people walking away from him.

"Hey…"

At last his brother bent down to get to the same level.

"Ed. I can't take it."

Edward let go of his pants and extended his flesh hand, and it made contact with Al's face.

"I'm sorry."

"I… really… I thought you were going to die. When that madman attacked everybody and went after you, I was sure that…."

"I'm _here._" Ed said, stroking his brother's forehead and brushing his bangs away. "I'm here."

"I know. But that's not the point. I saw him fall down and all that but when your face was covered in blood and I realized what you had done…"

The blonde could feel a grimace underneath his fingers.

"I… thought '_not again'._"

Something rolled over Ed's flesh hand, and Al shook his head and bent his head down in an instinctive attempt to shield himself from others.

"I thought you would die like teacher, I thought you were…! We're all we've got, remember?!"

"You didn't loose me!"

Al collapsed against his brother, grabbing fistfuls of the blonde hair as he hugged him tightly and cried. Ed winced at the pull but endured it, waiting for him to calm down and stroking his back. He was sure he would be crying too… if he had had any eyes to do so with.

"You understand?" Al sniffed. "You see why I was upset?"

"Yeah…"

A scream shattered the silence between them, and Edward smiled weakly.

"Hey, I thought of a name."

"Hm?"

Rose approached them with the little girl in her arms. Cain began starring on the couch at the high-pitched sound, mumbling something incomprehensible and put the pillow over his head to shut it out.

"Elena."

**Two months later…**

Al got off the train first and turned around, grasping Ed's searching hand and carefully guiding him down the steps.

"There's a bigger gap after the next one." He informed his brother, who clutched Elena in his automail arm and hesitantly sank one foot towards the platform. Finding his balance and standing on it.

The little girl gurgled happily and pulled at the his coat with a strong hand. The ride to Central had been without trouble since the train's movements had rocked her to sleep almost instantly… Though Al had noticed many staring eyes turned in their direction in the cart. He was glad that Ed couldn't see them, but he had a feeling his brother had been able to _sense_ it too.

Al saw a flash of blue between two old ladies and waved at the officers that had came to pick them up. He grabbed Ed's hand and led him through the crowded station without hesitation. The blonde was able to move as good as freely when they were at a place he knew, but he didn't want to risk him bumping into pillars or people pushing through queues.

"Can you take her?" Edward asked as they stood outside the brigadier general's office. He held Elena out towards Al, who accepted the small burden. He looked worriedly at his brother.

"You sure you want to go in by yourself?"

Ed gave him a ghost of his usual, cocky grin.

"I can handle the bastard."

"_Brother…"_

"Seriously, Al. I'll be fine."

The blonde turned towards where he hoped the door was and felt his way to the handle. He didn't bother to knock before opening up and going in. The wooden board swung back into its former place and Al sat down on a chair on the opposite side of the corridor. Elena cooed and tugged at his finger without a trouble in the world.

"Back to your usual rudeness, I see." Roy mumbled, not looking up from his paperwork. He was the only one in the office at the time, and it was extremely boring to have to sign orders and read reports when it was sunny out and his subordinates had taken a day off.

"Hrmpf." Ed muttered, going through the room slowly and recalling the looks of it from his memories.

"So, everything went fine I presume?"

_Crash_.

He looked up from the pile of papers and stared at Ed, who had tripped over a waste bin at Havoc's desk.

"When the hell did it get there?" The young man grumbled, trying to put it on its right place again. It was then that Roy saw the bandage covering the alchemist's eyes. He straightened up and observed Ed resuming his slow pace.

"What happened?" He asked, the smug tone now gone from his voice.

Edward felt his way to the visitor's chair and sat down on it, crossing his legs like usual and leaning back.

"The Bachanian lunatic came after me."

Roy frowned.

"So… he did what exactly?"

"To make the story short, he tried taking Elena from me and we ended up on the roof, he nearly killed her…"

"Whoa, hold on a second. Elena?" The general asked in confusion.

"My daughter. Anyway, thanks to her, she was dying, and in order to save her I gave up my eyes."

Roy was silent; if Ed had seen him, he had noticed the sympathy shown in his stern features.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to retire."

"What gave you that idea?"

Ed cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head in confusion.

"Er… see this?" He asked, pointing at the bandage. Mustang however, sighed.

"I won't let one of my best soldiers go just because he's lost his sight."

"_Just?"_ Ed thought, half-amused.

"No, I'm sure we can give you some kind of employment here. I'll go and talk to the right officers right away."

He began rising, but Ed gestured for him to stay when he heard the chair scraping.

"It's too much." He said firmly. "You don't have to."

Roy glared at him.

"I know I don't, _Fullmetal_. Now, stay here and I'll see what I can do."

He began marching out and Ed twisted around in his seat to follow the sound of his footsteps.

"Er…"

"Hm?"

"Can Al and Elena come in too?"

"You're asking nicely again." Roy chided warningly. "Don't. Your rude self is much more fun to work with."

He closed the door, and Edward froze with mouth opened to retort. His superior officer had gotten the last word _again_.

He banged his fist into the chair.

"GAH!"

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**Nithela speaks: Everything's... sort of, back to normal, yay! But don't leave just yet, check out the epilogue! It's got a little bit of everything and you get a glimpse of the little family's everyday life, not much more, really.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Nithela speaks: -sniff sniff- I don't wanna let go of this story... I really don't... Now I can't imagine how it was when it was nothing more than a disturbingly nagging thought in my head. Now my little seed has grown up and bloomed... and from here on it's at the mercy of you readers.**

**Disclaimer: As mentioned, Elena is mine... and come to think of it... the mad alchemist was, too. But the rest of the world is Arakawa's and she's one of my biggest idols.**

**Warnings: Angst, fluff, a bit of disturbing content, crappiness.**

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Drawers were opened and closed, cupboards examined. There was a sigh of irritation.

"Where do you keep them…?"

Maybe in the bathroom?

The sixteen year-old girl walked past the room where her father was reading. He didn't react to the rushed, determined sound of her steps; he had gone into genius mode and was completely unreachable.

She brushed her blonde fringe out of the way of yellow eyes and pulled the mirror to the side, examining the small shelves for the white pieces of cloth.

Aha!

She grabbed them with a triumphant smile and went back to where the Colonel was working. Experienced fingers flew over the Braille writing and his eyebrows were tilted into a concentrated grimace. She stood in front of him and cleared her throat.

"Hey."

"Hm…"

"_Hey!_"

His hand came to a halt and rested on the page and he tilted his head towards her voice.

"What?"

"You're still going to meet that general-thingy?" She asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Alright. I've cleaned your uniform. You'll have to look good to rise in the ranks." She said, looking through the bandages to find the most unused one. Edward grimaced.

"I don't need any more promotions, there'll be much more work to do and I'm already up too late in the nights."

"_But…_" She said; he could _hear_ the small smirk she had, however that was possible. "Then you'll have subordinates to do it all _for_ you."

"Elena, I'm not like that bastard."

"Dad, if you weren't such a close friend to the fuehrer you'd be shot for treason loooong ago!" She reprimanded, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, I thought that since we want you to look as clean and good as possible…"

"'We'?" Ed mumbled, putting the book away.

Elena ignored him.

"…and your uniform is already done, we only have two things left: your hair and bandage." She finished.

Her father sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll take a shower."

He rose from the chair and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Taking Al's place when he's away, huh?"

She put her hand on his and squeezed it lightly.

"Yeah, I figured _someone_ has to do it while he's away on his honeymoon."

When Ed came back from the bathroom, Elena was waiting on a chair in the kitchen with a brush in her hand and the bandages lying on the table.

"Sit." She said and patted the chair in front of her with the hard edge of said brush to let him know which one she meant. "I'll fix your hair."

"Hum? Oh, thanks."

He did as he was told and searched for the piece of furniture with his hand. When he found it he had no trouble placing himself on it and turned so that his back faced her. She took hold of some of his freely hanging hair and drove the spikes through the sopping wet mass, all the way from his scalp down to the edges just beneath the seat of the chair. She had always liked his hair; he had never cut it more than an inch per year to get rid of the more ragged parts, and when he had it in his usual braid the tip of it reached the small of his back. She knew many of his co-workers disapproved of such a hairdo in the military, especially since he was going on his thirty-sixth year, but he was deaf when it came to their complaints. He had told her that he would cut it once he had become a grandparent. She didn't know exactly why he waited until then, but she liked him just the way he was. With or without braid, or the automail.

Even with or without eyesight.

She had asked him about how he became blind. The only thing he told her was that he had to make a sacrifice to save someone's life long ago. She had wanted to know more, like all children do when their parents tell them about something, but he had just smiled at her and said that it didn't really matter.

"I need to untie this thing." She told him and pulled at the bandages. "Or I won't get to the parts under it."

"Oh… okay." He agreed, reaching back to loosen the knot holding the cloth up. He let it sink down hesitantly, putting it in his lap, and was on the verge of saying something. She interrupted him before he had the time to even start, though.

"No peeking. I know."

She went on with the brushing, and when she was done she braided it for him too. He leaned back against the back of the chair and seemed to enjoy being taken care of, and she smiled for herself.

She came to the end of it and looked for a tie, but there was none to be found around her. Without really thinking, she rose swiftly and went past him to get one from his room, looking over her shoulder to tell him where she was heading, but when she passed him, he put his hands over his face and looked away. Realization struck her and she gasped.

"Oh! Oh, no, I'm sorry dad, I didn't…"

"Just go and get it." He said, not moving from his half-crouching position and with his bangs shielding him from her vision. "You didn't _see_ anything, did you?"

"…"

"Just go."

She stood completely still for a moment, feeling sorry for him. She hadn't meant to look, but she _had_ seen. She _had_ noticed the complete lack of eyes and it made her feel slightly sick, but she also knew it was just the reaction he didn't want from her. So she stepped up to him and stroked his head soothingly.

"It's alright."

"Elena_, please!_"

"I saw."

If he could, he would have blinked in surprise.

"You did…?"

She put her hands on top of the mismatched ones covering his face and gently tried prying them apart. Ed didn't move an inch, though.

"Don't hide." She begged.

"…"

She tried again, but he mumbled something about him being "deformed" and "ugly". She sighed.

"Come on now."

"What's the big deal, you've already seen!" Ed snapped. "Just leave it alone, ok?"

"This isn't about me _seeing_ anymore, it's about _you_ trusting me!"

She glared at him and took hold of his wrists.

"_Father_…" She said slowly in a low tone that was almost threatening.

He was silent for a moment, sighed…

And slowly let his fingers sink down.

She tried as hard as she could not to wince at it; she didn't want him to hear it. The sockets were completely empty with only scarred, sickly white tissue making a wall around the bones. Edward's face had a strange hollowness to it without the bandages.

She studied him for a moment.

"Hey… was it you or mom that had yellow eyes?"

He "looked" down at his own feet.

"Elena, I've… never met your mother."

"Huh? But how did you…?"

"Loooong story."

"I have time."

He turned his head towards her, opened his mouth.

"I…er…"

Then he rose abruptly, picking up the forgotten bandage from his lap and tying it around his head again.

"I'll have to hurry if I want to be in time for the meeting. What image would I give them if I came in late, eh?"

"I'm going now." He called out, picking a white cane from a corner by the door. He was on his way to open it when thundering footsteps came closer and Elena threw her arms around his frame, burying her head in the crook of his neck. Her slumped posture made her seem so much smaller than her 5,5 feet. He hugged her back, tightly.

"Thanks dad." She said.

"Er… right?"

She let go of him with a smile on her face that he felt when he stroked her cheek.

"I _really_ must go now. See ya tonight."

"Uh-huh!"

He turned around and opened the door, unknowing of the…

"_OWWW!"_

The man massaged his aching behind.

"What was _that _for?!" He whined.

Elena whistled innocently.

"For luck."

He gave her his usual grin and disappeared in a whirl of blue cloth and blonde hair. Elena looked after him where he disappeared among the crowd on the street… and somehow, felt proud of being his daughter.

* * *

**Nithela speaks: That was it. It. IT! Now go to other stories, lose yourselves in them and accept my gratitude for supporting me and making me proud of this piece of fiction. The best thing with is YOU, readers. Love ya all.**

**Well... since it was the last chapter... review? -puppy eyes-**

**I really don't want to let it go now. I don't. Meh. 'nuff said... -posts chapter-  
**


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